


Learning To Fly (I'm Still Here To Catch You)

by thecarrotofshuutoku (merthur_at_221b)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Kitagawa Daiichi era, M/M, The pairing is only implied, childhood era, elementary era, kageyama/oikawa reverse roles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 13:00:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5870629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merthur_at_221b/pseuds/thecarrotofshuutoku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If Kageyama had been Iwaizumi's childhood friend, how would thier relationship develop?</p><p>--</p><p>Possibly to have a Kageyama-in-Seijo section and a Oikawa-in-Karasuno section, but this section is self-contained.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learning To Fly (I'm Still Here To Catch You)

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: haikyuu--hell on tumblr made some AMAZING fanart based off of this- it would mean a lot to both of us if you checked it out!!  
> http://haikyuu--hell.tumblr.com/post/138624025404/kageyama-clearly-had-something-to-say-and-he

Tobio was only five years old, yet he was already well acquainted with being alone.

He never really felt isolated, though- his parents truly loved him, and had given him the attention he had wanted for. The issue of being lonely arose when he was playing with other kids.

Sometimes, especially the younger kids, got frightened by his smile.

They didn’t have to face Tobio sobbing to him mom at night, “I just want someone to play with me! why are all the kids so mean? Is my smile really that horrible?”

_“Sh, sweetheart, the kids are just jealous that you’re so much taller and stronger than them. You don’t want to be friends with kids that won’t play with you, anyway,” She cooed, rocking him back and forth._

Tobio and his mom were at the neighborhood playground, today. It had been shaping up to be a typical experience for them. Tobio hadn’t felt up to trying to make friends- it looked like all the usual kids were here anyway, playing ‘The Ground Is Lava,’ or some other game like that- Tobio was content sitting in the sandbox, building and rebuilding his castles.

“What’re ya building?”

Tobio turned around, looking up at the face of another little boy. He had spiky hair and a gap-toothed grin, wearing a Godzilla tank top.

“I’m, uh, just making some castles,” Tobio said, his voice growing quieter with every word. This sort of interaction wasn’t one he had often, and was kind of intimidated by it.

“Castles are so cool! Is it okay if Godzilla can help you destroy them when you’re done buildin’ them up?” The boy asked, holding his figurine out in front of him proudly.

Tobio’s eyes grew wide. The kid wanted to play with him? “Y-yes, please!”

The boy squatted down next to him, weight on his heels. “I’m Iwaizumi Hajime, and I’m 5 years old. What’s your name?” He asked, stamping his toy in the sandy graveyard of castles that once were.

“I’m Kageyama Tobio, I’m 5 years old too,” Tobio answered, concentrating on building his new castle. (It had to be perfect for smashing, just for Iwaizumi.)

“Wah, that’s so cool! Do you know what school you’re gonna go to next year?” Iwaizumi exclaimed. He punctuated the question by bringing his toy down on the poor and defenseless sand construction. Tobio rattled off the nearby primary school. Turns out, he and Iwaizumi were going to be in the same school!

“Amazing!” Iwaizumi breathed, his eyes gleaming. “Do ya think we’re going to be in the same class?”

Tobio couldn’t wait to find out. Too bad that class placements didn’t get sent home for another month.

A sweet voice called out from a park bench. “Tobio-chan! It’s time to go, can you come over here and get your jacket on?”

Tobio stared intensely into the sandbox, as if concentrating enough would make his mom take pity on him. “Five more minutes?”

His mom started walking over. “Sorry, kiddo,” She murmured sympathetically. “Grandma and Grandpa are coming over later, and I still need to cook for them.” She swooped down and picked up Tobio like he wasn't already approaching half her height. He giggled, but that didn’t solve everything.

A deeper voice spoke out, approaching them from behind. “If it helps at all, Hajime has to leave as well.”

Over the aforementioned boy’s shout of “Hey!” The man began to talk to Tobio’s mom. “I’m Iwaizumi, Hajime’s dad. We just moved into the neighborhood last week. I would shake your hand, but I can see that they’re otherwise engaged.”

Kageyama just laughed, setting her son down gently. She introduced herself, giving the man a handshake. “Just last week? If you don’t mind my asking, what brought you out here?”

“Just a job transfer, nothing too scandalous. My wife had passed away last year, so it gave both of us an opportunity for a fresh start, as well.” His words hadn’t faltered, but Kageyama noticed him twisting the ring on his left hand.

Kageyama nodded solemnly. “I’m very sorry for your loss. If it’s any reassurance, Hajime-kun seems to be adjusting well. But now I remember- you say you moved last week, right? Do you happen to live on…?” She named the road that she and Tobio lived on.

Iwaizumi looked surprised. “We do, as a matter of fact. How did you know? Have I already garnered myself a stalker?” His tone was teasing, but his eyes were wary.

Kageyama quickly soothed his worries. “Oh no, nothing like that! We had just happened to see the moving trucks, that’s all! Our family also lives there.”

After being let down, Tobio had begun to play with Hajime again, but he perked up at this news. “Does that mean that we’re neighbors?” Tobio asked, his face a picture of elation.

“Yup! This means I can show you my bug collection later!” Hajime said, jumping up. He pretended not to notice how much Tobio’s face had paled at the word ‘bug.’ “C’mon dad, let’s get home right now this instant!” He shouted, holding Tobio’s hand as he started walking down the street.

He got about three feet before abruptly stopping. “Dad,” he said calmly, turning around. “How do we get home?”

That earned peels of laughter from the adults, who grabbed their respective kids’ hands. “I think we’ll lead this adventure,” Kageyama said warmly.

Kageyama had a bounce in his step and this point. He turned his head to the left to speak to Hajime. “Can I call you Hajime?” He asked shyly.

He considered it a moment. “Only if I can call you Tobio.”

“Deal.”

“Deal!”

\-----

Of course, they had been in the same class. It had happened the following year, as well.

(As much as the Kageyama family wanted their son to branch out and find more friends, they also understood the necessity of having a comfort to fall back on. So what if they had made a transfer request? Tobio didn’t need to know, at least not right now.)

But now they were second years in their school, which meant a very important event was about to pass.

“Hurry up, Tobio, we’ll miss the sports festival at this rate!”

Tobio walked a little faster, keeping pace with the taller boy. “I just wanted a milk box! You didn’t need to wait for me if you were in such a rush,” he remarked, smiling all the same.

Hajime rolled his eyes and responded with, “As if, crybaby. You would be bawling if I left you alone.”

Tobio’s grin slid off his face. “H-hey! That’s not true…” He looked down and shifted uncomfortably.

(It was true. It had happened before, at a festival.)

Hajime, seemingly unsympathetic, grabbed his other hand and tugged him along at a run.

They made into in the gym, just as everyone was settling down for the introduction. Hajime and Tobio waited by the end of bleachers, both of them visibly excited about being there.

The representative of the sixth years had taken to the podium. She cleared her throat before beginning her speech.

“Thank you for coming, everyone! All of our sports teams have been working hard to put together this showcase for us- please take this opportunity to see if you want to join any of them. Team sports will be having scrimmages on their respective fields and gyms, and cross country will be having a showcase by the track. Enjoy yourselves, everyone!”

She stepped down and gave a low bow to the polite applause, before rejoining the rest of the student council at the side of the gym. Hajime looked to Tobio, his eyes lighting up. “where do you want to go first?” The taller boy asked him.

Tobio looked lost. “I don’t know, there are so many…”

Hajime sighed. (He was already so exasperated for a seven-year-old.) “Well, this is the volleyball gym, we can just stay here and watch them first.”

Tobio nodded. “Sound’s like a plan.” He grabbed Hajime’s hands and pulled him to the seats, fighting the oncoming swarm of kids and parents alike. “We have to get a really good spot!” Tobio exclaimed, his hands tightening with intensity.

Hajime let himself be pulled. He wondered if volleyball would really turn out to be worth all this excitement.

It took about ten minutes for the game to be set up and ready to play. It felt like an eternity- enough time for the boys to compare their (admittedly limited) knowledge of volleyball, and any of the other sports teams the school had. They also played twenty-five rounds of janken, with Hajime a clear winner.

For spacing purposes, the boys and girls volleyball teams had combined for the scrimmage. One tall girl with close-cropped hair had walked behind the boundary line and beat the volleyball back to the ground a few times, before tossing it into the air. The other team had received it, and connected it to the setter, before the biggest boy on the team had jumped up to smack the ball down, getting cheers.

Hajime and Tobio were completely enthralled. They scarcely said a word to each other, instead calling out astonished encouragements.

By the time the set had ended, both of the boys were in a daze.

“That was so cool! Did you see them? All of the players were awesome!” Hajime babbled as they exited the stands.

Tobio kept staring at his hands. “Amazing. They were crazy.” He continued a few seconds later with, “I want to do that.” He was totally awestruck.

Hajime nodded. “Which person would you wanna be? I’m gonna be the guy that scores the most points and always has the ball.” He mimicked a player spiking the ball, almost tipping forward with all the force he put behind it.

Tobio said, “I want to be the one that gives everyone the ball to hit. That’s definitely the coolest part.”

They chattered about their aspirations as they walked on down to check out the other clubs, never feeling the same spark that volleyball had given them.  
\-----  
They both joined the school volleyball team and the club team in the offseason.  
Hajime had trained as a wing spiker and had used his height for blocking, when the rotation called for it. (Poor kid didn’t know how short a time he had to enjoy his edge on Tobio until it had disappeared over the course of a month.)

Tobio had learned that his ideal role was, ‘setter,’ and that he was damn good at it.

Tobio didn’t really tap into his full potential until his second year at Kitagawa Daiichi. All first years were on the bench as a policy that year, some weird sports alliance agreement, but then.

  
Then.  
‘  
Kageyama Tobio was an amazing, if not a genius, setter. He had crazy accuracy, blessed with natural ability.

If that wasn’t enough, he was a damn hard worker, too. He refused to be left behind by the third years in any other of his skills, and became passable at blocking, receives, and serving.

Unfortunately, though, his humility… was definitely a weak point. He had a lot of trouble controlling his sets, simply giving the best in any situation, rather than adjusting for the spiker.

But Iwaizumi Hajime was by his side, so there was always someone there to snap him out of his reverie, someone to remind him of his place.

It was never long-term, though. As time went on, Tobio became a harsh and unflinching ruler, not aware of how his treatment had weighed down the rest of the players.

But the next year rolled around, and new first years, with new skills and work ethics had arrived. Brought with them, was one boy who threatened to tip the scales of the volleyball palace one egocentric king had created for himself.

“I’m Oikawa Tooru, I’ve been playing volleyball since my second year in elementary school, please take care of me!”

Oikawa and Tobio became after-hours practice buddies. Kageyama, trying to set even faster than before, trying to get the ultimate toss. Oikawa, on the other side of the net, working on his serve. (And taking notes from his dearest and most adored senpai, obviously.)

Hajime had walked into the gym, unbeknownst to either of the boys. He silently watched Kageyama until the other boy muttered the word, “Faster.” The word had broken a damn inside of his, and he ran towards Tobio.

“Dumbass! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Iwaizumi shouted, grabbing Tobio’s arms. “What can you hope to achieve like this?”

Tobio managed to somehow have wild eyes and a wear, deep-set determination in his body. “I need to get stronger, I need to be faster. I can’t…” Tobio’s eyes slipped to the side, avoiding Hajime. He couldn’t take this interrogation. He was doing what was best for the team, dammit- If Hajime would just leave him be.

The boy scoffed, “I this, I that. Do you realize what you’re doing to the team? You can’t win on your own, dumbass!”

Even at this, Tobio was still unresponsive. He was too trapped in his own world, unwilling to see outside of his narrow-minded scope.

Hajime felt anger flash up inside of him. He let go of Tobio’s wrist, only to draw his hand back.

The smack resounded throughout the whole room. Tobio, now cradling his cheek, no longer distracted and glazed-over. He looked present. Ready to fight.

Good. Maybe the fucker would finally listen.

Oikawa dropped the volleyball he had been holding, previously frozen in space. The smack made him, too, come to life, as he squeaked in fear and ran out of the gym, probably looking for an adult.

The two didn’t pay him more than a seconds notice, before refocusing on each other.

“There are six people on a team at a time. You’re given three hits for a reason. Right now, no one can hit your sets, and if you keep playing like the weight of the world rests on your shoulders, no one ever will be able to. If you can’t set to us in a way that we can hit, there’s no way Kitagawa will ever win another game. You can’t sacrifice your last year of junior high to this mad, cracked-up idea that your quick toss is the best and only way. It’s rude and disrespectful to all of your teammates. If you don’t change, right no, one day will come where you set and no one will be there to even try to spike it, _because they can’t_. Kageyama Tobio, do you understand me?”

Both of them were shaking. Hajime usually doesn’t get like this- and Tobio is having a little bit of a moment.

Hajime is breathing heavily, as if he just ran a marathon. Tobio still looks shell shocked, but he absorbed the message.

He breathed deeply. “I…” Tobio’s voice cracked as his eyes filled with tears. “I’m…”

Hajime gently guided Tobio towards the locker room.

“Let’s go home, yeah?”

Hajime put his hand lightly on the small of Tobio’s back, a small but sure point of connection and support. He pretends not to hear Tobio sniffling.

“How long has… how long has the team felt that way?” Tobio suddenly asked, his voice unsure and wavery. The boys had gotten to the locker room, and Hajime had turned away slightly while Tobio was getting changed into street clothes.

Hajime thought about it. “It only got bad this year. But we al thought it was just a phase you were in- that you would realize what you were doing to yourself. But, I know everyone will let you regain their trust. We all want the best setter ever, too- but we’ll never get anywhere if you don’t give it to us in a way that we can actually get close to. You can keep getting stronger, and we’ll all get stronger too, but nothing’s matching up right now. Don’t rush it. It’s our last year in junior high- let’s pull out those amazing, pin-point, high-speed sets for an ace that can use them, right?”

Hajime kicked at the floor awkwardly Saying all those things… they were all true, but it felt weird to criticize Tobio right after his meltdown. And besides, Hajime was nowhere near a volleyball expert. What if his thoughts were totally off from what they should actually be doing?

Tobio had tapped his shoulder, to show he was done changing. They started towards the door.

Tobio quieted his fears for him, though. His voice was surprisingly strong. “That makes sense. I never wanted to think about it being a fault on my part. I want everyone to be great, too. Can we start working on that tomorrow?”

Hajime smiled. “That’s the best plan I’ve heard.”

Their shoulders bumped gently, and they continued home in the pleasantly warm weather, the silence between them wrapping them up like a favorite blanket.

**[IWAKAGE SHIPPER GOGGLES TIME.]**

Kageyama had cleared his throat a total of six times in three minutes. He clearly had something to say.

And he could not spit it out.

Hajime glanced over. The other boy’s ears were totally red, even in the low light surrounding them.

Hajime groaned loudly, throwing his head back. “Tobio, what is it?”

Tobio had flinched at his voice. It was kind of like a kitten- entirely too violent a reaction, that inexplicably was still cute.

They kept walking, and Tobio took a second to steel himself.

He spoke in halted sentences.

“I was wondering if. Um. If you could, uh. Ah.”

He trailed off again. Hajime was about to prompt him again, when he felt a tugging at his sleeve. He looked down, and Tobio’s hand was clinging to it,

In a flash, Hajime had understood. He removed his hand from his pocket, and instead placed in Tobio’s.

It wasn’t as awkward as he had expected, but it didn’t keep Hajime, himself, from flushing.

Contrary to how flustered he looked, his voice was as calm and collected as ever.

“Ah, yeah. I get it.”

Hajime didn’t remember when he started, but by the time they reached the midway point between their houses, his thumb had gotten sore from circling the back of Tobio’s hand.

With a tinge of resistance, they broke the connection.

Tobio whispered, “Thank you.”

And then he turned home.

Hajime had a lot of thinking to do. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Comments are encouraged, and tell me if you spotted any grammar/spelling issues. :^)


End file.
